Kagami Gazou
by Silver Mayflower
Summary: [Mirror Image] Ever wonder if there is an alternate reality with an alternate version of you? Minamino Shuuichi has just met his doppelganger, and he's not too happy with what he sees. A continuation and alternate universe story.
1. Juvenile Delinquent

**IMPORTANT NOTES:  
- ****Minamino Shuuichi has short hair in this fic! Just so you know.  
- ****Sarayashiki houses both a Junior High School and a High School, so that I can stick everyone together in a familiar place.  
- ****This fic takes place right after the series would've ended (so everyone is 3 years older than they were in the beginning of the series).  
- ****All names will be in Japanese order: family name first.**

**WARNING: This work of fanfiction will contain some drama and the occasional vague references to homosexuality. This warning counts for the entire fic and will NOT be repeated. You have been warned.**

**Disclaimer for the entire fic: I don't own YûYû Hakusho or any of the characters from the series, and no matter how much I'd want to, the ownership of these will never be mine. Not even if I put them on my birthday wish list. I made up the 'alternate world' characters though, so they belong to me.**

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**This is one of my first attempts at serious fiction, and my first attempt at writing something YYH related. I haven't seen all of the series, so there might be mistakes here and there.**

**The idea for this story came to me when I was wondering how Minamino Shuuichi would have turned out if he had never been influenced by Youko Kurama (read: Youko never existed). This let to wondering how everyone in YYH would have turned out if Demon World and Spirit World didn't exist at all. And that led to wondering how the characters from one reality would react to meeting the characters from another reality. Thus, this fanfic was born.**

**Word count: 892 words**

"Stop that guy! He stole my money!"

"Thief! Come back!"

The yelling of the people around him made his heart beat faster. He had to escape, or the police would catch up with him. But where? The arcade was too cramped and busy; if he fled there, they'd catch him for sure. No, he needed a place where he would be able to slip between the crowd, without the officers of the law being able to follow him. Like, say… a supermarket? He knew there was one not too far away. If he could make it in time…

"GOT HIM!" …or not. The hand of a police officer had closed around his wrist painfully; there was no way he'd be able to break free now. The boy who had stolen someone's wallet just a moment before sighed in resignation. He already knew what was going to happen next. It was almost routine by now. First they would take him to the police station, then they would call his parents; he'd been there so many times, they didn't even bother asking for his name anymore. They just shook their heads and said "Oh, it's you again" before making the call.

After that, his parents would come to pick him up. They would first spend several minutes apologising to the officers for their son causing trouble, they would make him apologise as well, and they would drive home again. No lecture, though. They'd given up on that after the first dozen arrests or so. It never had any effect on him anyway. He would simply nod and say "I'll never do it again", and two days later he would be caught stealing batteries or something similar.

In short, Minamino Shuuichi wasn't a very easy child to raise. **(1)**

Indeed, three hours later found Shuuichi sitting in his room at home. His room was rather messy; fantasy books were laying around haphazardly, his schoolbag was thrown in a corner and a pile of old CDs which he never listened to anymore was accumulating dust on the other side of the room. Shuuichi lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.

'_I hate it when I get caught. Every time it happens mom just looks at me as if I never should've been born. And my father- no, STEPfather; he thinks he can tell me what to do with my life! Pffft, he's not even related to me. And my stepbrother is a nightmare, always acting really annoying. He can't even study for himself, but takes my books to copy down everything… loser.'_ Shuuichi rolled on his side and continued with his mental tirade. _'I really hate my life. I know I'm no saint, and I know I shouldn't steal, but mom could at least try to pay less attention to her husband and stepbrother and more to me. She acts as if I don't exist at all…'_

Shuuichi had not always been the juvenile delinquent he was now. He had been a normal teenager with normal grades and normal behaviour. It had slowly started to change, however, when Shiori announced she had a new boyfriend. _'A boyfriend! When she's already thirty-seven!'_ Shuuichi had not been happy with having to share his mother. He had soon started to cause trouble to get attention from her; it only worked for a short time though. Eventually, Shiori had told him that she was going to marry Hatanaka-san. But the worst news was when she said that _Hatanaka's son was named Shuuichi too._ And that was the final straw. Minamino Shuuichi turned to stealing. **(2)**

After stealing for so many times, it was only natural that he had gotten a reputation for troublemaking everywhere he went. Even the other students at school were mostly avoiding him now; the only person that even talked to him was Yukimura Keiko. **(3)** This was not entirely because of her gentleness and her will to make everyone around her happy. It was because of her former (unofficial) boyfriend. Urameshi Yuusuke had been just as much of a punk as Shuuichi was now: skipping classes, smoking, drinking and the occasional theft had made up most of his life… until he had been hit by a car. The only real consolation Keiko got was that he died almost instantly, with only a brief moment of pain. **(4)**

Sometimes Shuuichi felt Keiko didn't even care about him, but talked to him only because he was so much like Urameshi. He only acted as a replacement of sorts. _'Heh, I wonder… if I didn't act so much like Urameshi, would she still talk to me? Probably not. She just feels comfortable around me because of my attitude.'_ Shuuichi often let himself dwell on such depressive thoughts right after arrest. He just couldn't help it.

But today, he had decided to do at least a bit of his homework before calling it a night. The new physics teacher had given a very interesting assignment: _write down any theory you can come up with explaining time travel, the existence of other dimensions, or anything similar_. Contrary to his other homework, this assignment actually sounded as if it might be fun, and he needed to do at least part of his homework if he wanted to pass. So Shuuichi took some paper and a pen, and started to write…

**(1) – Bet you didn't see that one coming!**

**(2) – So basically, Minamino Shuuichi is being awfully angsty and rather unreasonable, feeling he's being replaced with Hatanaka Shuuichi. This sort of thing (becoming a juvenile delinquent to get attention from your parents) happens in real life too. Unfortunately.**

**(3) – Since he's not a genius like the Minamino Shuuichi we know, he's not attending Meiou High School. Also, after the introduction of Hatanaka, not just his behaviour but also his grades have been getting worse, so he got held back a year… now, he's attending the one school which would accept (err…) a juvenile delinquent: Sarayashiki High School.**

**(4) – Yes, Yuusuke is dead. Or at least the one from this reality is.**

**Posted: May 22, 2007  
****Next chapter: The Science Museum**


	2. The Science Museum

**IMPORTANT NOTES:  
- ****Keiko and Kuwabara are 17 years old, Hatanaka Shuuichi is 15 years old.  
- ****Minamino Shuuichi is 18 years old, but he got held back a year, so he's in the same class as Keiko and Kuwabara.  
- ****They all go to Sarayashiki High School.**

**Word count: 1090 words**

Night passed and Friday morning came, bringing with it breakfast, children getting ready for school… and two Shuuichis glaring daggers at each other from across the table. Minamino Shuuichi had always felt his younger stepbrother was a loser who couldn't even take care of his own homework, and Hatanaka Shuuichi had always felt his older stepbrother was a jerk who was too lazy to help explain the latest math problem he had come home with. The two simply couldn't stand each other, and their parents always took care never to leave them in one room together without a grownup nearby.

This made sure that the two didn't actually fight each other physically. However, the downside was that the Hatanakas quickly became very stressed; they had to put a lot of their energy into keeping their children from fighting, making them constantly tired. It put a strain on the entire family, even more so than Shuuichi stealing.

But today, the glaring was not as bad as usually, their thoughts occupied by the trip organised by the school to the new science museum. This museum was different from other (boring) musea, because they were actually building a machine to create a path to other realities; **(1) **every newspaper, television network and radio station had done several reports on it. Never mind the fact that it sounded like something out of an anime, the interest of every student had been piqued: contrary to other museum trips, this was the trip everyone actually looked forward to. Even the elder Shuuichi, who disliked science, was interested.

When the two stepbrothers left their house, Keiko was waiting for them. She usually walked with them to school, mostly to keep the two from beating the crap out of each other. It frustrated the older Shuuichi to no end that she was equally polite to his stepbrother as she was to him. But today, he didn't have time to be frustrated with her: she was babbling away about the museum trip with her enthusiasm barely kept in check.

"Everyone has been talking about it for so long, it's absolutely fantastic! It has been rumoured that the machine for going to other realities is going to be tested during our visit there; **(2) **it would be really exciting to travel to other realities, don't you think? I wonder if we would have counterparts in those other realities. You know, people who are us, but act different because they grew up a bit different than we did. It would be so exciting to meet your doppelganger; what do you think, Shuuichi?" Keiko finally finished her rambling.

"I don't know. I mean, I heard that the easiest reality to enter was one who is the most like ours, so our double would be almost the same as we are. I certainly know how I am, so it wouldn't be all that interesting to meet someone who is _exactly_ like me" was the younger Shuuichi's reply. The older Shuuichi was even less enthusiastic: "I already have one annoying stepbrother. I seriously don't need another one". This, of course, earned him a slap on the head from Keiko, and a harsh glare from his stepbrother.

The next two hours passed in frenzy; after rounding up all of the students, the teachers herded the students trough the streets intent on getting them to the museum without any accidents. This proved to be an immensely difficult task, because convincing two hundred students to keep walking in line as well as keep quiet is pretty much impossible. Not that it stopped the teachers from trying, of course. After all, they had to do something to preserve their sanity.

Meanwhile, the weather was slowly becoming worse; while morning had been relatively sunny, large thick clouds were now looming ominously over the heads of the students. The teachers were grateful for the fact that it hadn't started to rain yet when they reached the science museum. When the last students had entered the building, rain started to pour.

And so, four hours after breakfast time, two hundred students were admiring the latest piece of technology; the InterRETRAM, or **Inter**-dimensional **Re**alities **Tra**nsportation **M**achine. Basically, a machine to visit other realities. Most of the students were asking the guide numerous questions about the machine; how did it work, had they already tested it before, and were they really planning to test it right now? They were absolutely delighted when the scientist said that they would be able to see the testing taking place now. However, some of the students were concerning themselves with slightly other things…

"You can't go any closer! You're not allowed to!" Keiko whispered furiously to the older Shuuichi. "Ah come on. It'll be fun to see that machine from up close. You're not scared are you?" came the reply. The younger Shuuichi decided to support Keiko. "She's right; if we get caught we'll be in bigger trouble than ever! I for one don't feel like being grounded for the rest of my life!" The older Shuuichi didn't answer. Instead, he was trying to sneak closer without being seen by the numerous scientists standing around. When he turned around, one of the other students had joined Keiko and his stepbrother; Kuwabara Kazuma, also known as the number one punk at Sarayashiki High School. **(3)** And by the looks of it, Keiko was convincing him to go and drag Shuuichi back to the group.

Shuuichi stood up and leisurely walked back to Keiko; suddenly he grabbed her arm and ran back to the machine. "SHUUICHI! What are you doing! Stop it!" Keiko yelled. Kuwabara and the younger Shuuichi quickly followed the two, while one of the scientists ran after them as well with the clear intention of stopping them; everyone else panicked…

And right then, the storm that had been accumulating now fully unleashed its power. Unexpectedly, a bolt of lightning struck the building of the science museum. The lightning coursed trough cables and computers, effectively frying most of the equipment. Then it reached the generator that provided energy to the InterRETRAM; the same machine a small group of students and one scientist were standing next to right now. The generator had, for some unexplainable reason, never been equipped with a surge protector, **(4)** and the sudden increase of energy was directed right to the InterRETRAM.

The last thing Minamino Shuuichi was aware of – to a strange background resembling a kaleidoscope - was that the scientist who had just grabbed his arm had gone very, very pale.

**(1) – Very clichéd of course, but I couldn't think of anything else. Therefore, this stays.**

**(2) – Any self-respecting company would guard their secrets closely. Especially big projects, such as this one, are always kept top secret for years, if not decades. Then why is this company letting a bunch of teenagers gawk at their invention, and even give them a demonstration? Simple, it's fanfiction! ; But seriously, those scientists wouldn't have revealed their invention to the public… unfortunately, it was the only way for me to dump everyone in another reality.**

**(3) – Of course, now that Yuusuke isn't there Kuwabara is the number one punk. The reason that Minamino Shuuichi doesn't hold that 'title' is because he has no intention of having a reputation even worse than the one he has now.**

**(4) – Which is of course a dumb thing to do. After all, rule # 224 of the Evil Overlord List clearly states: **_**I will build machines which simply fail when overloaded, rather than wipe out all nearby henchmen in an explosion or worse yet set off a chain reaction. I will do this by using devices known as 'surge protectors'**_

**Posted: June 06, 2007  
****Next chapter: Alternate Reality**


	3. Alternate Reality

**Word count: 1089 words**

When Minamino Shuuichi woke up (and with a splitting headache, too; which idiot was using his head as a giant drum?) he was immediately aware that something was wrong. Of course, that might have been because he wasn't inside anymore. Rather, he was now lying in a park; one that was very familiar too, since he often came here after school in order to avoid going home. Shuuichi frowned. Did that machine just transport him to the park, or was he actually in another reality? The park certainly looked every bit the same as the one he frequented. Oh well, lying here wouldn't give him any answers. Shuuichi stood up and looked around; he noticed someone lying not too far from where he was.

That someone turned out to be the scientist that had grabbed his arm earlier. He was obviously unconscious; not even shaking him got Shuuichi any response. Ah well, not as if he cared. But where were the others? He was pretty sure Keiko and Kuwabara had been standing near the machine too; even closer than him. Looking around a bit more, he dragged all of the others together; the scientist, Keiko, Kuwabara and eventually (why did he have to be here, too?) his stepbrother. So far so good, now he had to wake them up…

An hour later, all of them were at least moderately awake; enough to discuss between each other what to do now. The scientist, who had introduced himself as Kumotachi Amemaru(adding in a few fancy titles everyone would probably forget again in a few minutes), had told the group that this definitely had to be another reality. Also, even though the machine had been primarily build to travel to realities as similar to their own as possible as to avoid culture shock and the like, the reality they were in now was not necessarily a lot like their own. The enormous energy surge had powered up the machine to such an extent, that this world they were in now could be as different from their home as night and day.

"This world could have creatures that are completely unknown in our reality; theoretically, this world could have dragons, pixies, unicorns, anything you can think of, and humans might not even exist at all. We're lucky that physics as we know them actually work here; imagine what kind of trouble we would be in if gravity didn't exist in this reality!" was what Kumotachi said. The next ten minutes were spent trying to keep Keiko from killing Minamino Shuuichi. "Now look what you did! We're in another reality where monsters could be walking around, ready to eat us for dinner and use what's left of us for toothpicks; and it all your fault! What were you thinking?!"

Kumotachi pulled Keiko's arm to prevent her from giving the redhead a cracked skull. "We should be quiet; we don't know what could be walking around here! Your shouting could attract something!" That quickly made her shut up. Suddenly, Kuwabara and the younger Shuuichi decided to speak up. "Everyone quiet, something's coming!" Immediately, the group tensed… and let out a breath of relief when the rustling turned out to be a young five-year old girl playing with her ball, complete with Disney figures printed on it. **(1)** They were rather relieved to see something familiar to them. And if the small girl was any indication, there probably wouldn't be any man-eating monsters around here.

As one person, the group walked towards the little girl, hoping to find out more about this new world; more specifically, how much it really differed from their own. Keiko, who was used to taking the initiative at school, spoke first. "Hello, my name is Keiko. My friends and I were wondering if you could tell us where… uh… Sarayashiki High School is?" The girl, not bothered in the least by the odd question, pointed in a direction and said (with the air of someone who suddenly feels really responsible and is determined to make a good impression): "Oh, you have to walk in that direction until you leave the park… then you take, umm, the second street on the right, follow the road until you can't go any further and then you turn left… and then you'll see it. Can't miss it!" Keiko thanked the girl, who was ecstatic to know that someone much older than her had required her help.

While the girl ran further, playing with her ball once more, the group started to discuss their new information, Keiko taking the lead once more. "Sarayashiki in this world is located at the same place and the same distance as in our own world. There is a large possibility that this world is virtually almost the same as ours, but in order to know for sure, I think we should go to this world's Sarayashiki and see if it's any different." Kumotachi nodded his head. "Yes, this world does seem to have a large similarity to ours. Still, it would be wise if we were careful. No matter if your school and the people look the same; there might still be large differences. We should not talk to anyone, because anyone we meet might know our counterparts in this world; and if we act differently than they would expect, they will get suspicious." Everyone murmured a reluctant agreement, and they went to leave the park.

Just before they left the park, however, Kuwabara came up with an idea. "Hey, it would be really cool to see our counterparts in this world! See how different they are, or if they're the same… what do you guys think?" Hatanaka Shuuichi grinned, liking the idea very much. "Yeah, that'd be cool!" Even Keiko, always the responsible one, let herself be convinced. "It would be quite interesting… and we might learn something new about ourselves, I suppose…" she said hesitantly. Minamino Shuuichi just shrugged. "Whatever, it's not like I have anything better to do." Kumotachi watched the conversation go on with growing dread. "Listen, children, we have to make as little contact with the people in this world as possible; if we are actively going to search for our counterparts, we will be found out so much sooner!" His complaints fell on deaf ears, though. None of the Sarayashiki High students found the idea very risky at all, and soon they made their way towards the school; some of them excited, others worried (Kumotachi) and others not caring at all (Minamino Shuuichi).

**(1) – I don't really care much about Disney myself, but from what I know, the Japanese adore it. Just thought I'd include it somewhere in the story.**

**Posted: June 27, 2007  
****Next chapter: A Walk in the City**


	4. A Walk in the City

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! Here's chapter four for you to enjoy. This is the shortest chapter yet, but I thought the upcoming events were important enough to have a chapter of their own. That's why this one is so short. Sorry…**

**Word count: 713 words**

The city itself looked almost identical to the one they knew. The buildings were pretty much the same, though minimal differences kept appearing: the local police station was at the other side of the street, and the small grocery shop where Keiko frequently went was replaced with a different shop (though she couldn't find out what they were selling; the only thing she was able to see trough the window was a large mirror covered with dust and several near-empty shelves). The people walking on the street were pretty much the same too; once in a while, they would recognize someone they knew back in their own world. A neighbor, a teacher… every time this happened, Kumotachi would pull them back so that they wouldn't be seen.

Their relatively calm trip was suddenly disturbed by Kuwabara, who had spotted a pretty girl. "Oh wow! She looks nice!" The girl he was looking at was standing in front of a convenience store, smoothing out her dress. She looked quite odd: blue-greenish hair, red eyes **(1) **and she seemed to have a preference for clothing that looked as if it was meant for someone younger. Kuwabara, meanwhile, was being restrained by the others; Kuwabara had wanted to meet the pretty girl, which was of course not a good idea. "You will only draw more attention to us!" said Kumotachi. Halfway through his reply, consisting of 'Whatever, I don't care', Kuwabara stopped struggling… "Hey, that's my sister! What's she doing here? And… she looks weird…" he wondered.

Everybody's head turned. All of them (except for Kumotachi) had seen Kuwabara's sister, Shizuru, at least once. They knew her to be a cheerful girl, a bit ditzy perhaps, but generally a very nice person. This Shizuru, however, looked quite different; she did not look as if she would ever put on a dress voluntarily, and wore her hair loose instead of in a ponytail.

And most importantly, she was smoking. **(2)**

Of course, the group had to drag Kuwabara away at this point; otherwise he would have gone there and given his sister a long speech about the dangers of smoking (which, of course, would have exposed the group immediately). Ten minutes later, Kuwabara had calmed down enough for the others to let go of him. After a short discussion the group decided once more it was best to avoid direct meetings with anyone they knew in their own world. The entire group was still rather surprised at the revelation of such a large difference between their world and this one. Shizuru, smoking? Still, it wasn't as if they could do anything about it; so they went further in their intended direction of Sarayashiki High.

Some time later… "Hey, look! It's my double!" said Hatanaka Shuuichi. Everyone looked; indeed, what looked like Hatanaka Shuuichi's splitting image (right down to the haircut, this time) was standing in the arcade, playing what appeared to be a racing game. "He looks exactly like you. No difference at all" remarked Kumotachi. Keiko, however, secretly thought that for some reason this Hatanaka Shuuichi looked a lot happier and more carefree than the one standing right next to her did. She did not get much time to think about this, though, because the group was already walking further ahead. After a frantic yell of "Wait for me!", she ran after the group.

"Well, we've seen my own double and we've seen Shizuru-san… That was definitely unexpected, though… Well, I suppose we could go and see if we can find the other doubles" said Hatanaka Shuuichi. "Nah, I don't really need to see myself. That'd be sort of creepy" was Kuwabara's opinion. Eventually, they decided to find just Keiko's and Minamino Shuuichi's double. "I'm pretty sure we'll be able to find them at Sarayashiki High, don't you think?" Keiko asked. Minamino Shuuichi, who she had directed her question to, just scowled and turned away. He was beginning to regret coming along; suddenly, he really didn't want to see his double from this world. Meanwhile, Kumotachi was trailing behind the group. He still thought it was a bad idea to actively search for their doppelgangers, but he had reluctantly accepted that they wouldn't listen to him anyway. He sighed. Kids and their stupid ideas these days…

**(1) – Guess who.**

**(2) – My theory is that Shizuru (the one in the series) turned out to be such a kick-ass person due to her psychic powers which allowed her to see youkai. Since the Shizuru in the other world never had any powers, she didn't become quite as headstrong. Instead, she became the stereotypical cheerleader girl (you know, the type of girl that giggles a lot, talks exclusively about boys and fashion, and faints at the sight of blood). Oh, and I'd just like to mention that I have nothing against cheerleaders. I just like using stereotypes once in while (but not for main characters, or they'd be a Mary-Sue).**

**Posted: July 22, 2007  
****Next chapter: Meeting the Dead**


	5. Meeting the Dead

**Word count: 1346 words**

The first thing Minamino Shuuichi noticed when they arrived at Sarayashiki High was the silence. He had never gone to school after hours, so it was strange for him to hear no footsteps, talking or laughter there. The second thing he noticed was that it was not completely empty after all; some students had apparently gathered at the school for an extra study session. A group of three students was just about to head home… three very familiar students. More precisely: Keiko, Natsuko, and Hanami. **(1)** Keiko said a cheerful goodbye to her friends, and headed in the opposite direction.

It was Kuwabara who said out loud what they were all thinking. "Hey, your double looks really happy. You never really act cheerful like that; well, not since Urame- OW!" At that point, Hatanaka Shuuichi had kicked him hard in the shin to prevent him for saying anymore. Deadly silence followed. Hesitantly, Kuwabara and the two Shuuichis looked at Keiko to see how she would react. They sighed in relief when Keiko just smiled at them. "It's okay, guys. I know he didn't mean it. Let's go and look for Shuuichi's double now, alright?" Minamino Shuuichi frowned. He really didn't think Keiko was alright; when Urameshi had been mentioned, she had quickly changed the subject. And anyway, he didn't really feel like going to see his double anymore. But if he said that out loud, he might upset Keiko, and she was already shaken up since they had landed in this weird world. The other students nodded their agreements, and they decided to follow Keiko's double, since it was their best chance at finding the double of Minamino Shuuichi.

They followed the other Keiko at a reasonable distance; close enough to avoid losing her, yet not so close that they would be seen. It took only a few minutes for the group to figure out they were heading in the direction of the restaurant owned by Keiko's parents. The restaurant itself looked just as the one in their world; it was in exactly the same place, and there were no visible differences at all. Keiko didn't notice much of her surroundings, though. She was thinking about her double, who was indeed a lot more cheerful… _"Maybe I never met Yuusuke in this world? If I hadn't met him, I wouldn't be able to miss him either. It would explain why my double acts like that… I will never be able to be that cheerful again, I think. I can't help but miss Yuusuke…"_ Keiko shook her head. She should think such depressing thoughts! Come on, she shouldn't think about Yuusuke, but something else. Let's see what her double is doing: there she is…

What happened next was so shocking that they all froze. WHAP! Keiko's double had slapped a young man who had been bothering her; who had, in fact, just flipped her skirt and loudly proclaimed Keiko had a nice ass. Who else but Urameshi Yuusuke, number one punk of Sarayashiki High School, did something like that? Then, after recovering from Keiko's fist, Yuusuke decided it would be fun to lift Keiko up. Bridal-style. With a yelling and struggling Keiko in his arms, he entered the restaurant whistling, leaving the group standing outside with numerous questions that begged to be answered. How was it possible that Yuusuke was alive? And if Yuusuke was alive, how did this world's Keiko think of Minamino Shuuichi? Did they know each other or not? And why were there such large differences appearing, while the rest of this world was nearly the same as theirs?

Meanwhile, Kumotachi was utterly confused. For some reason, the brown-haired girl named Keiko had turned deathly pale, making her look like a ghost. The younger Shuuichi and that Kuwabara kid had started to whisper to each other, while throwing occasional glances at their female friend. Even the older Shuuichi, who had stayed passive and emotionless ever since they had landed in this reality, was now shooting worried glances at the brown-haired girl. Well, it seemed that he must have missed something. He turned to Kuwabara (he was the least likely to avoid the question or lie) and quietly asked "Yukimura seems to be frightened of something; what is going on?" A quick debriefing of sorts concerning Keiko's (now dead) quasi boyfriend was made, with the occasional comment added by the younger Shuuichi. Kumotachi had heard enough; no wonder the girl had acted like that.

Keiko had been staring with blank eyes at the door of the restaurant where Yuusuke had entered. She barely noticed Minamino Shuuichi standing behind her, until he took her hand. Turning around, she buried her head in his chest and began to sob quietly. By the time Kumotachi and the other two students had finished their talk, Keiko was feeling a lot better.

"It's getting awfully late" Hatanaka Shuuichi remarked; it was indeed getting darker by the minute. Kumotachi told the group they needed to find a place to sleep. "With this much similarity to our world, the currency will probably the same, so money shouldn't really be that much of a problem. We can rent a few rooms, as long as they're not too expensive. It's a good thing I have some money with me. Hope it lasts…" the last part was muttered softly to himself. Only Minamino Shuuichi, who was standing directly behind the scientist, heard it; but he kept his mouth shut. He wasn't going to make Keiko worry even more.

An hour later, they were lying in the soft beds of a small hotel downtown. Though they were trying to go to sleep, each of them had numerous questions running though their head, warring for attention. Kumotachi was mostly worrying about the money; it turned out he'd had enough money to pay for one night, but after that they wouldn't be able to get a room here anymore. If they didn't find a way to go home tomorrow, they would be faced with the very unappealing prospect of sleeping on the street.

Kuwabara's thoughts were rather more cheerful; apart from hoping Keiko would not be too sad after today, his two main concerns were "I hope Shizuru doesn't forget to feed Eichiki" and the somewhat less important "I hope my double has a nice girlfriend".

The younger Shuuichi was wondering about his family, both in his own reality and this one. He had indeed noticed earlier that his double was a bit more cheerful than he himself was. _"Maybe… maybe dad didn't marry Shiori-san in this reality. If he didn't marry to her, I never would've known Shuuichi…"_ The younger brother closed his eyes._ "I wonder if my parents are looking for me… back at home. They'll have trouble finding me… how do you find someone who is stuck in another world? Oh wait, they must have known what happened… the other students and the teachers must have seen us falling in the machine…"_ Five minutes later, Hatanaka Shuuichi was sound asleep.

Minamino Shuuichi was, again, falling slowly into a depression. He had tried his best to stop any morbid thoughts from surfacing, and he had mostly succeeded in that; yet one thought had managed to worm its way to his consciousness. The thought just kept playing over and over again in his head like a broken record, eating away at his more rational thoughts. Despite his common sense telling his otherwise, he couldn't help thinking it… _"Everyone is happier in this world. That means my double is dead. I'm dead, and no one's life is ruined by me…"_ With this particular thought being stuck on 'loop', it took a long time for the red-head to fall asleep. The rest of the night he was plagued with nightmares, never making him forget the so much happier faces he had seen in this world.

In the room next to his, Keiko was crying herself to sleep, trying her hardest to forget about Yuusuke. She wouldn't be able to meet with him anyway… It was better if she forgot.

**(1) – Remember those two girls who followed Keiko around during the first few episodes? In the manga, the dark-haired girl with glasses is called Natsuko. The blonde girl is never named, so I gave her the name Hanami, which means 'Flower Beauty'.**

**Posted: August 18, 2007  
****Next chapter: The Perfect Student**


	6. The Perfect Student

**A/N: Here's the sixth chapter. The second half of this chapter is my favourite part in the story yet. Man, I can't wait for the two Minaminos to meet face to face… (grin)**

**Word count: 1179 words**

The second day in this 'almost-the-same-as-home-world' started with breakfast. Everyone sat quietly around the table, keeping to their own thoughts and not saying a word. Knowing that Yuusuke was dead in their own world was bad enough; but seeing him alive and well in this world had opened up old wounds they didn't want to be reminded of. Even Kumotachi, who had never met Yuusuke before, felt rather bad. Strangely enough, the person who seemed to be in the best mood was Keiko; eight hours of much needed sleep had apparently calmed her down a great deal. Still, none of them was gloomy enough to keep quiet the entire day; and soon, they started to discuss what they were going to do today and in the near future. "If we won't be picked up from our own world today, we will have to find some form of lodging for free. The money we have now is definitely not enough to spend even one more night in a hotel, no matter how cheap it is" said Kumotachi. The four teenagers weren't to happy with this, but realized there wasn't much of a choice. Kumotachi was the only one who had any money, while the rest of them didn't even have a single yen on them. Not being able to come up with a solution for this problem, they decided to discuss for now how they would spend this particular day.

While Kumotachi had completely given up by now to protest the ideas the teenagers came up with, Kuwabara, Keiko and the younger Shuuichi had banded together to convince their redheaded companion to search for his doppelganger in this world. Minamino Shuuichi vehemently protested, but trying to convince three people entirely on your own is extremely difficult. It did not take long for Minamino Shuuichi to give up; Kuwabara and Hatanaka Shuuichi cheered and Keiko thanked him politely for 'changing his mind'. As soon as everyone's plate was empty, they left the building and went in the direction of Sarayashiki High School. It was a nice Saturday morning; the streets were filled with quite some people already, most of them going to work. Small groups of students were also walking around, heading for school. **(1)**

For a small while, the boys (Minamino Shuuichi joining reluctantly) amused themselves by pointing out different school uniforms and naming the school which that particular student attended. The closer they got to Sarayashiki High, the more students they saw wearing the familiar blue uniform. It wasn't very long before they spotted Keiko's double and Yuusuke. More precisely, they spotted Keiko's double chasing Yuusuke down the street, yelling at him to hurry up. Both Shuuichi's glanced at 'their' Keiko; they were relieved when she stayed calm, even when seeing Yuusuke again.

Moving closer to the two bickering students, they were able to make out what was being said. "Yuusuke, you idiot; if you dare to go skipping today I'll tell my parents not to let you eat in the restaurant for the rest of the year! Do you hear me?" Yuusuke avoided her punch easily and pouted. "They wouldn't do that anyway and you know it. Besides, what has gotten you so riled up today? Got an average grade for an essay yesterday, or something?" Keiko ignored the jab directed at her diligence and continued her own tirade. "You should really go to school everyday and do your best! I mean, look at Minamino-san! He manages to combine his 'extra activities' with school just fine **(2)**, and he goes to Meiou High School! It's the best high school in the city…"

At this point, the group had stopped listening to the conversation in favour of staring at Minamino Shuuichi with astonished looks. "What?" was his irritated reply. Keiko smiled at him. "I think it's very nice that your double goes to Meiou High! Imagine how smart he must be; I bet you could do that too…" Her praising, obviously full of admiration for this previously unknown side of her best friend (well, her best friend's double, at least) was cut short by Kuwabara, who started laughing. "Ha, you have a geek for a double! That's gotta be embarrassing!" Kuwabara and Hatanaka Shuuichi both continued laughing at the redhead, despite Keiko's protesting to leave him alone. Keiko, somewhat desperately, decided that there was at least one way to make them stop laughing. "I have a great idea!" She started, "what if we go to Meiou High to see Shuuichi's double?" The idea was quickly approved of by Kuwabara and Hatanaka Shuuichi, and they left for Meiou High, dragging a reluctant Minamino Shuuichi with them.

It was not a big problem to find the school; the building was located at the same spot it stood in their own world. Finding Minamino Shuuichi's doppelganger was a bit trickier, though. Even if he was supposed to have brilliant red hair, which would normally stand out, he was rather difficult to spot amidst the purple and red coloured sea of students standing in front of the building. However, they did get a bit of unexpected help in finding him from the other Meiou High students. "Minamino-kuuun! Could you please help me? I don't understand this problem…" A young girl wearing the red-coloured girls' uniform of Meiou High was waving around with her math book. Following her was a rather large group of other girls in the same uniform, all looking and blushing and giggling at this world's Minamino Shuuichi, who was standing there with a composed look on his face. As soon as the dimension-travellers spotted him, their eyes went wide with surprise.

How was it possible for Minamino Shuuichi (even if it was a doppelganger and not exactly the same one) to be this popular?

And for that matter, why the long hair? Minamino Shuuichi did not look like a regular young boy. Rather, he looked like a very pretty young girl… one with a flat chest, but still… very pretty all the same.

It did not take long for Kuwabara to blurt out what they were all thinking. "Your double looks like a lady!" **(3)** For the shorthaired Minamino Shuuichi, this was the last thing he wanted to hear. First he ended up in a world were everyone seemed to be happier, apparently because they didn't knew him. Then it turned out that the Keiko from this world didn't need him, because she had Yuusuke. And now he was going to be mocked with having a ladylike double? He did the first thing that came up to him; he stood up and ran like hell.

Keiko was the first to recover from Minamino Shuuichi's abrupt flight. "Shuuichi! Come back! He didn't mean to insult you!" Kumotachi pulled on her arm. "We have to follow him! He is already too far away to hear you, and if we lose him, we'll never be able to find him back anymore!" The three teenagers nodded and they started to follow Minamino Shuuichi; but to no avail. He had already left them far behind.

**(1) – In Japan, you go to school from Monday to Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon and Sunday are free days, unless you visit a juku, which is for extra study sessions after school. Almost all students in Japan go to a juku (cram school) regularly, to improve their chances of getting into a prestigious university.**

**(2) – Extra activities refers, of course, to catching demons causing trouble in human world. And while our visitors from an alternate reality don't know that, they have noticed the strain Keiko put on the words 'extra activities'.**

**(3) – A tiny, tiny reference to the song 'Dude looks like a lady' by Aerosmith… I just couldn't resist. I don't think Kurama would ever pull out a gun, though.**

**Posted: September 27, 2007  
****Next chapter: Running Away**


	7. Running Away

**A/N: Yay, we've reached the lucky number… and it's the longest chapter yet!**

**Word count: 1908 words**

Running. That was the only thing Minamino Shuuichi was really concerned about right now. Why on earth had Kuwabara felt the need to mention his double's likeness to a female? His double was not really the same person as he was, but they still were more reminiscent of each other than to anybody else. Kuwabara's comment had hurt, but the worst part… it was the knowledge that Kuwabara was right: his double did look like a lady (somehow the word 'girl' seemed to be less fitting) and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

The knowledge that he could actually look like that – because really, physically they were exactly the same person – made him unexplainably frightened. He knew that there wasn't anything to BE afraid of. Long hair wouldn't kill him… but the fact that he COULD look like that by just growing his hair out (that was all it would take) scared him on a level like nothing else did.

And so he ran.

However, Minamino Shuuichi had never been fond of sports. In fact, he was one of the worst in his class when it came to PE lessons; thus, it wasn't long before he slumped down on a bench in the park, completely out of breath, with his sides stinging as if a thousand needles had been planted there. Now that he wasn't running blindly in a random direction, Shuuichi had a chance to calm down a bit and reflect on his situation. He had quite some things to wonder about; the question that came to mind first was why the long-haired Minamino Shuuichi was so different from him (relatively spoken, at least) when every other double in this entire world almost seemed to be a carbon copy of the person back home.

For that matter, how did his double become so popular? With hair like that, it would have been expected that he was the laughing stock of the entire school. Even schools like Meiou High, where everyone was a geek according to regular standards, was divided in 'popular people' and 'not-popular people'. The latter usually referring to geeks, but even an all-geek school would manage to find a small group of people to ridicule. After all, c'est la vie.

Which led to the question: why did he have such long hair anyway? No guy in their right mind would wear his hair that long! **(1)** Unless…? Outwardly, Shuuichi only cringed – but inside, he was pretty much banging his head against the metaphorical wall by now. His mind had quickly jumped to what was (according to him, at least) the only logical conclusion; his double was either a transvestite in his spare time, or he was a homosexual. **(2)**

Neither was a fun prospect to the short-haired rebel from another world.

Meanwhile, a certain blue-haired girl with an oar was walking trough a hallway in Spirit World. Botan was on her way to see Koenma, her boss; he had sent her a message to come to his office right away. Apparently there was something going on in Human World; something that was unusual enough to send an investigator, but not so distressing that they were going to send in a Spirit Detective. Not every problem was large enough to warrant the involvement of Urameshi Yuusuke (who, even at the best of times, lacked the subtlety needed on smaller missions such as this one).

Botan reached the door to Koenma's office and stepped inside. "Hello, Koenma! Beautiful day isn't it?" she chirped, her usual cheerful look firmly in place. "Yes, very beautiful… good you could come, Botan. I have a small mission for you." Koenma said. "Yesterday, the scanners registered the appearance of a large energy source, which disappeared just as fast as it had come. The energy was quite probably a one-time thing; I doubt anything like that will happen again. However, since that energy peak five energy signatures have appeared in Human World; those signatures are very similar to regular human signatures, but there are some tiny differences which shouldn't be there." Koenma handed Botan a map containing several diagrams, timetables and some other sheets, as well as a small radar-like device. "I want you to search for these signatures. See what emits them, find out if it's dangerous, the usual. The complete list of instructions is in the map. Good luck, Botan!" Botan replied with a cheerful "Thank you!" and left the office. Ten minutes later she was flying trough the air in Human World.

Botan had no trouble with finding out where the signatures were; that's what the radar she'd got from Koenma was for, after all. She could see five dots blinking on the small screen; four were close to each other, moving rather fast. _'They seem to be running'_, Botan thought. The fifth dot, however, was separated from the group, and didn't seem to be interested in going anywhere in particular, moving rather slowly. Looking at the radar for a while, Botan quickly deducted that the four dots moving together must have been looking for the fifth one. _'If they are dangerous, I'd better wait with approaching them'_, Botan said to herself. _'I'll just see to the one who got separated from his friends instead. One on one is far better than being ganged upon by four at once.'_ Having made up her mind, Botan followed the radar's signal to the lone dot blinking on the screen. **(3)**

She arrived at her destination a mere two minutes later and flew (invisible for the moment, wouldn't do well if she was spotted by anyone) trough the park, noticing that it was rather empty. Of course, it was Saturday morning; most people would still be at school or at work. However, with midday fast approaching, it wouldn't be long before the park would be swamped with people looking for relaxation from an entire week of stress. Botan realized she had to find the source of the lone signal quickly; it would be far more difficult to discern the source if it (he? she?) was surrounded by a crowd. Luckily, it didn't take long for Botan to find what she was looking for. When she saw the red-haired boy, her eyes widened in recognition, and she let out a gasp of surprise.

Since when did Kurama have short hair? Weren't all youko supposed to have long hair? However, Botan was not stupid (she never would've gotten the job of ferry girl if she was) and soon her mind was coming up with numerous reasons why this boy couldn't possibly be Kurama.

First and foremost: the hair. Unless their hair had been damaged during a fight, both youko and kitsune would always wear their hair long; it was a tradition, one they would always hold on to. **(4) **Second: the radar Botan held in her hand clearly pointed out the Kurama look-a-like as the source of the strange energy signal, whereas the real Kurama would have emitted regular human energy with a bit of youki mixed in. And third: there was no way for Kurama to look _**that**_depressed. These facts danced around in Botan's mind, eventually clicking together to form a conclusion which made Botan sigh.

If the boy and the four people he had come with really turned out to be from another reality, there would be _**a lot**_ more paperwork to be filled in.

'_Oh well, better get it over with sooner than later'_ she thought, and mentally prepared herself to meet the depressed redhead. She turned herself visible (a human body really came in handy sometimes; good thing Koenma had let her keep it) and approached the bench where said redhead was sitting.

Minamino Shuuichi was a bit surprised to see someone else in the park. He was pretty sure it was still morning, so the girl must have decided to skip out on school today. He was even more surprised when she directly went to him, though that was nothing compared to the shock he got when she started to talk to him. "Hello, you must be Minamino Shuuichi! You will probably deny it, but I'm fairly sure that you're from another reality, aren't you?" The boy gaped at her and tried to say something back. Surely, this sort of thing couldn't be normal; how did the girl know he was from another world? For that matter, how did she know his name? However, before he could ask her anything, she asked a question of her own. "I know you got here in this world with four other people; and if it's not too much of a bother, could you please tell me who they are?" Despite not knowing her at all (or perhaps because of it?), he was soon telling her what had happened (omitting some details, such as the whole thing being his fault) and how they had gotten here in this reality. The girl, who had introduced herself as Botan, seemed to recognise the names of the other students as well, but Kumotachi she had never heard of.

Shuuichi found it relaxing to talk to her; now that he could talk freely (well, almost freely; he was still leaving out some things), it was as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulder. Botan was the first person he could really talk to about the whole thing without hearing someone say loudly "But it's your fault we're here, remember?" Botan was a patient listener and did not press him into telling more than he wanted, even if it was clear there were quite some things he wasn't telling. When Shuuichi finished his narrative, he sighed and looked at his feet. "I really don't know what to do now" he admitted. "I mean, we can't stay in this world forever; someone would find out eventually. But there's no possibility for us to get home, either. I don't know what to do…" Botan surprised him again. "Well, that's going to be rather easy. My boss will know what to do! He can find a way to send you all back home, no problem!" she chirped, ignoring the ludicrous stare Shuuichi was giving her.

Botan looked at Shuuichi, suddenly becoming serious. "You'll want to return to your own reality as soon as possible, of course. But I'm not sure how fast my boss can come up with a solution, so you'll probably stay here for at least a couple of nights more. But if you gather your friends here, I'll pick you up and make sure you get some proper lodgings!" By now, she had again retuned to her cheerful, ditzy self. Shuuichi briefly wondered is she even knew what anger and sadness were; she did not seem the kind of person to ever become angry or sad, no matter what situation she got into. Then, he remembered what she'd said.

"Err, bring everyone along with me? Now?" he asked nervously. He did not feel like facing the group again; not when their comments about his long-haired doppelganger were still fresh in his mind. "Of course now! Surely you can't be planning to spend the night out on the street, are you?" was the reply. Botan stood up from the bench and turned to face the redhead. "Just make sure you'll be here with the others around three, okay?" and without waiting for an answer, she walked away, leaving behind one very bewildered teenager.

**(1) – Minamino's opinion, not mine. There are actually quite some men in the world who wear their hair long, even without having any particular (religious, cultural, etcetera) reason.**

**(2) – For some reason the idea of Kurama as a transvestite cracks me up. It must be the mental images of Kurama wearing a dress (giggle). Originally I wanted Minamino Shuuichi to think Kurama was gay (without any other possibility entering his thoughts), but after rereading all of my Ranma ½ volumes I started thinking about what would happen if Kurama fell into the 'Spring of Drowned Girl'. One thing led to another, it seems. (By the way, a story about Kurama getting cursed and ending up in Nerima has been noted on my fics-to-write list. Expect something to come up, though not immediately.)**

**(3) – If you ask me, Botan tends to be largely underrated in a lot of fanfics. The job of 'Ferry Girl of the Dead' is not something that would be entrusted to any random person, especially not dumb people. Botan is in no way stupid, she's just overly cheerful.**

**(4) – For this story counts that youko are demon foxes (like Youko Kurama) and kitsune are spirit foxes (non-malevolent fox spirits who can take on a completely human form, the only indication of their true nature being their fox-like shadow).**

**Posted: October 18, 2007  
****Next chapter: Tentative Acquaintances**


	8. Tentative Acquaintances

**A/N: Eighth chapter, achtstes Kapittel, chapitre huitième, achtste hoofdstuk, rozdział ósmy! ****(Fear my mad language skills!) Keiko gets to act like Gibbs, and proper introductions are finally made. I blame this 3 days late update on my exams. Enjoy!**

**Word count: 1712 words**

Yukimura Keiko, top student, class representative and (recently) dimension-hopping girl, was absolutely, positively SEETHING. Minamino Shuuichi might've had a pretty good reason to run away, but that did not mean he was allowed to stay hidden for so long! As it was, the group had been searching for him for three hours already. Still, there was no sign of the red-haired rebel. One thing was certain; Shuuichi was going to be in a lot of trouble with Keiko. The anger seemingly radiating off her in waves was so obvious that even Kuwabara had kept quiet for the last hour or so. Thankfully, the group was spared having to deal with an irate Keiko for very long, because Minamino Shuuichi had just decided to show up again. Yukimura Keiko went into a full-blown tirade for what seemed like an eternity, nearly shattering everyone's eardrums but her own (she'd had a lot of practice with yelling when Yuusuke was still alive).

Half an hour later, they could finally recover from the terrible onslaught; Keiko had thankfully managed to calm down, and Minamino Shuuichi decided to grab this opportunity to tell the others what had happened to him. As expected, they had a hard time believing him at first. "What, a random girl just walked up to you and said she knew everything? That's ridiculous!" said Hatanaka Shuuichi, absolutely convinced that his stepbrother had finally snapped. Well, at least his stepbrother wasn't trying to murder anyone. Yet.

Minamino Shuuichi retaliated with an irritated "If you don't believe me, you can come along; she said she'd meet us at the park at three. If she shows up, that's your proof I've been telling the truth." Kuwabara was not very enthusiastic about meeting the mysterious girl. "It might be a trap! She could be a witch who's trying to win our trust so that she can…" A slap on the back of his head, courtesy of a very annoyed Keiko, quickly made him shut up. The four teenagers looked up to Kumotachi, waiting for him to make a decision. "I don't know how it's possible for anyone from this world to know about us" he said, "but if there is a chance that boss of her can get us back to our own dimension, I think we should take it. There's not much else we can do, anyway." Keiko agreed: "If this Botan knows about us, it wouldn't be too farfetched for her boss to be able to get us back." That said, the group decided to head for the park, since it was nearing three already.

The park was filled with all sorts of people, coming there to relax after an entire week of either work or school. Most of the people there seemed to be students from one of the schools nearby. Saturday morning may have been a time for lessons and assignments, but the afternoon was for relaxing and having fun. Minamino Shuuichi nervously hoped he could find the blue-haired girl with all those other people around. He didn't need to worry much, though, since she found him first.

"Hello there!" Botan chirped in his ear, making him jump in the air. "Don't sneak up on people like that!" Minamino Shuuichi bit back, annoyed that she'd managed to get so close to him without him becoming aware of her. Still, he didn't get a chance to say anything more, because Kuwabara had noticed her and decided she was very pretty… thus trying to ask her out. "Hello there, I'm Kuwabara Kazuma, you're a really pretty girl, would you like to go out with me?" he said, all in one breath, while taking Botan's hands. The girl stared at him with big eyes and nervously started to giggle. "Umm, could you let go of my hands? Thank you… umm, I really can't go out with you…" Once Kuwabara had gotten over the fact that he was rejected (again), Botan turned a surprisingly serious look to the group. "Now, I need everyone of you to tell me _exactly_ how you managed to end up in this reality…" And the group (mostly Keiko, with some comments added by Kumotachi) explained about the machine that had brought them here. Also, they stressed the fact that it was all Minamino's fault, greatly embarrassing him. He'd secretly hoped that they wouldn't tell… Botan listened carefully and made a few notes in a small notebook.

Five o'clock came and found the group sitting in the middle of the park, enjoying the ice-cream that Kumotachi had bought for the rest of them. "Well, now that you know everything" he said, "Do you think your boss can help us? We don't have much money, so a hotel is not an option; and we obviously can't stay out on the street. The only thing we have really left is to go home today." Botan was looking at her notes and mumbling a bit to herself. She sighed and looked up at the scientist and students, who looked back with hope shining in their eyes (except for Minamino Shuuichi, who was depressed again and didn't care much about anything). "I'm not too sure if it's even possible to send you back at all. Even in the best of circumstances, it might take weeks or months to set up a portal to your world…" She noticed how the looks of the others fell and gave them a reassuring smile. "But either way, you won't have to worry about having a place to stay! I have just the place for you; there's a temple in the forest where you can take up lodging. I'm sure Genkai will take you in!" she said, hoping that the aforementioned wouldn't be too angry at the ferry-girl for making such a promise without having her consent first. Old age or not, the woman was _**scary**_.

The five misplaced travellers looked at each other. They didn't really have a choice, did they…? They didn't had enough money to pay for a hotel once more, and they couldn't sleep on the street… that only left them one chance. "Lead the way to the temple, then" said Kumotachi. Botan brightened and hopped from the bench, practically skipping her way to the park's entrance.

Hatanaka Shuuichi stared. And stared. And for good measure, he decided to stare some more. "We have to walk ALL THOSE STAIRS TO THE TOP???" he yelled. The rest of the group didn't say anything, but he was absolutely sure they were thinking the same. There was _**no way**_ they would be able to climb so many stairs. Scratch that, no one in the entire _**world**_would be able to climb so many stairs. What kind of a crazy person was this Genkai anyway?

Alas, they didn't have much of a choice… Botan was already walking up the stairs. Sighing, the group followed her, hoping none of them would keel over and die from exhaustion before they reached the end. Unfortunately, the stairs looked as if they stretched on forever… and none of them was convinced that they would be entirely alright after climbing them. "These are the stairs of doom…" muttered Kuwabara. The others couldn't help but agree. Stairs of doom, indeed.

The unexpected sight that greeted them when they had (finally) reached the top of the stairs was as follows: Urameshi Yuusuke was running away from this world's Yukimura Keiko, who was throwing random things at his head while insulting him. Yuusuke himself was yelling back at her, demanding to know what he did wrong this time. An old woman with fading pink hair (Genkai, perhaps?) was watching the chase while drinking a cup of tea, apparently not at all disturbed by the violence. In fact, a smile could occasionally be seen; the woman was clearly enjoying the spectacle as if she were at a theatre. Hatanaka Shuuichi turned to Botan: "Say, is it really a good idea to show up here? I don't think our doubles could handle seeing themselves… they wouldn't be able to understand that we're _**really**_ from another reality, and not just a bunch of people who are playing a prank on them…" Botan giggled at the boy. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. They've had weirder things happen to them, really… I think you'll get along just fine!"

The five looked at each other apprehensively. Weirder things than this? Couldn't be possible. And would it really be alright to reveal themselves to their counterparts? Until now they had constantly decided to avoid all contact with anyone, in case of accidentally causing trouble. They did not get a chance to think about it, though, because Yuusuke (rubbing his head after he'd been hit with a particularly heavy book) had just spotted them. And obviously, he said the first thing that came to his mind. "Oh wonderful! Now I get to deal with TWO Keikos! What is it, 'Everyone-Pick-on-Yuusuke-Day' or something?" The two Shuuichis, Kuwabara, Keiko and Kumotachi gaped at him, not entirely sure what to say or how to react. The Keiko that had been chasing Yuusuke around, on the other hand, practically growled at him and smacked him on the head. "OW! What did you do that for, Keiko!" was the immediate response. Keiko ignored him and approached the group still staring at them. "I apologize for Yuusuke, he's not very good at manners… I'm Yukimura Keiko, pleased to meet you." She smiled at the group. "I must say I'm very curious how someone who looks exactly like me can stand here… perhaps you could explain?"

Her reassuring smile put everyone a bit more at ease. The Keiko from this world had calmly accepted the fact there seemed to be a doppelganger of her, and Yuusuke did not seemed to be bothered that much either (rather, he was still rubbing his head and muttering things like 'unfair' and 'it's just not right' under his breath). The pink-haired woman (who they found out was indeed Genkai, when she introduced herself to them) was only vaguely amused, as if things like this happened every other day. Sleeping arrangements were made, Genkai put on some tea, and they started to get to know each other. Everyone knew it would become a very interesting time from now on…

**Wot, no footnotes?**

**Posted: November 18, 2007  
****Next chapter: Ice and Fire**


	9. Ice and Fire

**Hanging decorations onto the pine tree  
Small crystal bells toiling for everyone to hear  
Spending quality time with your friends and family  
Merry Christmas to all of you, and a happy new year!**

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed my impromptu Christmas poem! This chapter is just a bit of boring plot advancement. The next chapter will finally bring us to the real action (and my first actual fight scene)!**

**Word count: 1801 words**

* * *

By the time the group of dimension-travelers had settled in at the temple, the sky had turned a beautiful color, displaying a mix of reds, oranges, and some purples. Mother nature seemed to do her very best to impress her audience with her painting skills, showing off the most brilliant colors imaginable. Inside the temple, the clock hanging on the wall calmly ticked away the few seconds before eight o'clock.

Despite having been there for only two hours, the newcomers had managed to fit in quite nicely. Yes, Genkai was a strange woman, and their doppelgangers seemed unusually calm when faced with what should have been impossible, but they were nice and reassuring people. More importantly, Genkai had allowed them to stay at the temple for as long as necessary. (She had in fact complained about free-loaders, but the combined forces of Hatanaka's pleading look and Keiko's teary eyes had quickly won her over.)

"So…" said Keiko, "you seem to know Master Genkai quite well. How did you meet her?" she asked her double. The second Keiko shifted her gaze from Yuusuke (who was training with Genkai) to her other-worldly counterpart. "Actually, I don't know Master Genkai that well. Yuusuke met her about four years ago, and he got pretty much conned into becoming her heir. He wasn't too happy about it at first… but he's grown fond of coming here. I just tag along most of the time; it's calm enough here to do my homework, and when I'm here I can make sure Yuusuke goes homeward on time. And of course…" Keiko smiled brightly, "…I can act as moral support for when Master Genkai beats him!" This revelation was accompanied by laughter.

"What about my double in this world? I haven't spotted him… myself… eh, you know what I mean!" said Kuwabara. Keiko grinned a bit. "Oh, our Kuwabara comes here quite often – not for training, though!" Becoming quite curious, Kuwabara asked her what his double came for, if not to train. The answer Keiko gave – that his girlfriend Yukina lived here – surprised the group. Kuwabara himself was overjoyed. "Ha, that's nice! I have a girlfriend here… hey, do I have Eikichi, too?" he suddenly asked. Keiko laughed at the abrupt change in the subject, and told him that yes, his doppelganger did have Eikichi.

Any further questioning halted, when footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. Keiko brightened. "Ah, those must be Yukina and Shizuru, back from shopping!" The group turned towards the steps, wondering what kind of person this other Kuwabara's girlfriend was… their eyes went wide when they realized it was the girl that Kuwabara had in fact wanted to talk to yesterday!

It was not only _their_ eyes that went wide either; Yukina was quite startled to find not one but two Keikos, someone she vaguely recognized as Kuramas brother, someone who looked a lot like Kurama (but wasn't – Kurama had long hair and gave off a small amount of youki, this unknown boy didn't have either of those…), another unknown person – an adult this time – and was that… Kazuma? Couldn't be, his energy felt completely off…

Shizuru took a brief look at the newcomers, shrugged, and walked back down the stairs. She'd probably hear what was going on in a few days from her brother; until then, there was no need to know. (Though she had a faint idea about that already… being a psychic sure had it's perks.)

Keiko waved at the Koorime. "Hello, Yukina! How was your shopping trip?" Yukina gave a friendly smile and replied: "Oh, it was very nice. I had a lot of fun with Shizuru…" Keiko nodded thoughtfully. "Well, these people here will be staying here for a while at the temple; they're counterparts from another reality. They had a bit of an accident with a machine…" In the background, a mutter of "it's you fault" was heard, followed by a mutter of "shut up".Yukina politely ignored the glares going between the second Keiko and the Kurama look-a-like, and turned towards the rest of the group. "Hello, my name is Yukina. It's very nice to meet you all. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here… would you like some tea?" The members of the group greeted her back and took up her offer, and Yukina walked into the building.

Moments later, a young boy seemingly appeared out of thin air; Keiko, the first to spot him, greeted him. The group noticed she wasn't as enthusiastic with her greeting as before; though looking at the boy, none of them blamed her… the guy was seriously creepy.

"…Hello, Hiei." Keiko turned back towards the group. "Guys, meet Hiei… he shows up here quite often. Hiei, these people are from another reality. Don't frighten them too much…" the last part was more of a low mutter than an actual sentence, but everyone still heard it.

The gothic looking boy (with red eyes – what did these people have with colored lenses, anyway?) silently observed the group for a bit, and then sat down without a word. The two Shuuichis briefly looked at each other, and – for once in mutual agreement – backed down as far from the creepy kid as was possible without appearing to be rude. Kumotachi did not back down, but he made a silent promise to himself to never let this Hiei out of his immediate sight. Keiko – the one from another world – looked at Hiei with wide eyes, and prayed to whatever deity was listening that Hiei would turn out to be a decent guy.

This world's Keiko simply thanked whatever deity was listening that Hiei didn't brought his katana with him today.

Out of everyone there, only one person didn't seem to be frightened of Hiei at all… and he certainly had no qualms about letting everyone know. "Oi, shrimp! It's very rude not to say anything, you know?" Kuwabara said, drawing not only Hiei's attention but also everybody else's. Minamino Shuuichi briefly wondered in what way Hiei would murder Kuwabara (because if the glare was any indication, Kuwabara was as good as dead), but then decided that he didn't really want to know. Although the silence only lasted a second, it seemed to take ages before any sound was heard again…

A snort. "I honestly don't see the point in talking to someone with the intellect of a lemming. If you want to talk to someone closer to your level of understanding, go find an ant hill."

The collective breath that had been held by the group, was released. It seemed that Hiei wasn't in a murderous mood after all; their horror quickly returned, though, when it seemed that Kuwabara wasn't planning on letting the obvious insult go. Their horror morphed into surprise again as Hiei continued to reply to Kuwabara's indignant shouts with insults – as opposed to physically harming him. Everyone minus this world's Keiko stared at the bickering, their thoughts alternating from _'Oh gods, Kuwabara is dead'_ to _'This is actually pretty funny'_ and everywhere in between – it was not entirely unlike watching a very interesting and very deadly game of pong.

Kumotachi, at least, felt the need to do something about it, and turned to Keiko. "Should… shouldn't we do something to stop them?" He nervously asked, his eyes flickering from Keiko to Hiei to Kuwabara and back to Keiko again. "Oh, that… no, there's no need to stop them. Our Kuwabara gets into arguments with Hiei all the time." She replied in a matter-of-fact tone. The other Keiko and the two Shuuichis gaped at her. "I mean… are you absolutely sure…?" Kumotachi asked again, being far from convinced. Keiko just smiled at him in a way that must have been meant to be reassuring. _'Still,'_ Kumotachi thought to himself, _'they haven't killed each other in the past three minutes… and Yukimura did say this was normal…'_ The scientist decided to give up on the matter before he got a migraine. No one was dead yet, and hopefully wouldn't be either. And that was that.

The trading of insults between Kuwabara and Hiei did not have the chance to develop much further, anyway; Yukina had just returned outside, bringing with her the earlier promised tea and having included a pile of cookies. The return of the pretty girl alone was enough for Kuwabara to completely forget about his fight with Hiei within seconds. "Hey, Yukina-chan! Thanks for bringing the tea!"

Yukina smiled and put the tea and cookies down. Unlike the others, though, she seemed perfectly content talking to the glaring newcomer. "Oh, Hiei! I didn't knew you were coming today; would you like some tea as well?" Hiei's response pretty much stumped the group: he said 'yes' (politely, too!), he followed up with a 'please' and he even – get this – blushed.

Minamino Shuuichi turned to his stepbrother and whispered: _"He's in love with her – can you believe it?"_ Said stepbrother whispered back: _"Yeah, talk about a lost cause…"_ **(1)**

Sometime later the group had pretty much settled down again; Hiei had gotten his tea, drank it up, and left after that. Yuusuke and Genkai, back from training (Yuusuke looked like he'd fought a rabid bull, but he was grinning wildly nonetheless) joined as well, and they all shared a few stories from school, looking for more differences between their respective worlds. They sat there until eleven thirty – until Kumotachi and both Keikos banded together to tell everyone it was getting late, and they really should go home now to sleep. Keiko and Yuusuke left home, and the others went inside to the rooms prepared by Yukina earlier during the day.

'_It has been quite the eventful day'_ Kumotachi thought sleepily. _'We have met Yukimura's doppelganger, who is not surprised at all… two kids who both wear red contacts, and that Hiei kid seems to have a thing for Yukina… and earlier, Minamino's doppelganger.'_ That last thought really bothered him. _'Why are they so different? There doesn't seem to be any logical reason for it at all!'_ he closed his eyes, sleep slowly overtaking him. His last conscious thought was _'I hope we can find a way home… no, not like that; I promise myself we'll find a way home. We have to.'_

The other members of the group shared similar thoughts, although in various degrees. Before sleep claimed them and took them to dreamland, they all made their own promises; Kuwabara promised himself to find Yukina in his own world… Keiko promised herself to finally let go of her old feelings for Yuusuke… Hatakana promised himself to make sure he'd never encounter Hiei in a dark alley… and Minamino Shuuichi promised himself that he would never, ever, grow out his hair.

Incidentally, only one of those promises would ever be realized. **(2)**

**

* * *

(1) – The two stepbrothers are unbelievably lucky that Hiei was distracted by Yukina at the moment. If he wasn't, he might've overheard them… and I doubt the results would've been pretty.**

**(2) – See if you can figure out which one! Also write why you think it is that particular promise. I'd love to hear your theories.**

**Posted: December 17, 2007  
****Next chapter: Avoiding Explanations**


	10. Avoiding Explanations

**A/N: Chapter ten. This has my first fight scene in it! Well, at least the start of it... most of the actual fight will take place in the 12th chapter. The 11th chapter is an interlude. (If I get lots of reviews for this chapter, I'll update faster!) Man, this chapter was a real killer to write… more than 2000 words!**

**Word count: 2460 words**

The next day (their third one in this alternate world), everyone was rudely awakened at 5 in the morning by Genkai, who claimed they were all in dire need of a good workout. Minamino Shuuichi tried to convince her that it wasn't necessary for them to do any laps, since they had enough exercise during gym class at school. The whole thing resulted in said redhead doing twice as many laps around the forest as everyone else, a fact which amused his younger brother to no end.

At 8 o'clock, Yukina served breakfast to the tired group, who used their last bits of whatever energy they had left to talk about (what else?) their doppelgangers. Current point of interest: Minamino Shuuichi's double.

"Considering the parallels between the other doubles with us, Minamino's double should be very much like him as well. Why they are so different from each other is a mystery…" Kumotachi mumbled, clearly frustrated with how illogical this world turned out to be. The model the scientists had developed described very minutely how the differences between their world and any other random world were ordered. No matter what parallel world was chosen, the differences could be traced back to a mathematical formula which described how large the variations were.

Yukina blinked at the group and innocently mentioned that Minamino came to the temple at least once a week. So Kuwabara, who had become fed up with just theorizing (too much thinking needed), decided to ask Yukina why the two Minaminos were so much unlike each other. Since she knew the other Minamino, she should be able to tell them, right?

"Well… I don't know, really… I'm not an expert on things like that!" was the feeble answer. Keiko and the younger Shuuichi glanced at each other. She was unmistakably lying, but what could they do about it? None of them were willing to forcibly demand answers from Yukina; it would be (in Kuwabara's words) like kicking a helpless young kitten. Next stop for asking questions: Genkai, who was training Yuusuke at the edge of the forest, with this world's Keiko sitting nearby. Perhaps one of them could explain the differences?

Genkai ignored the group in favour of tortur- hmm, training Yuusuke, by throwing sharp knives at him. Yuusuke was a bit preoccupied with dodging said kitchen utensils and was not available for questioning at the moment. That left Keiko's double…

When Keiko had woken up this Sunday morning, she'd had a rather bad feeling; as if something terrible would happen this day. Breakfast had been fine, the trip to Genkai's temple uneventful, and no demons had left the city slums to attack her. So far, so good… but when the five travellers from another reality stood around her and asked her about Minamino, the warning bells in her head began to ring incessantly. _'Warning, warning. Plausible fabrication needed right away. Please proceed with a believable lie'._ However, Keiko could only come up with only one reply. "…I don't know. Maybe you should ask Genkai?" she said.

The group was beginning to grow rather frustrated.

"Hellllooo, I'm here!" Botan was skipping up the stairs to the temple… which was empty. "Huh, that's odd" she thought out loud. She turned around and skipped towards Yukina, who was sweeping the grounds. "Hello Yukina, where is everybody? Koenma said I was supposed to go here…" Yukina pointed her in the direction of the training grounds (the mention of which got a small noise of sympathy for whoever had fallen to Genkai's clutches). Botan turned around and started skipping her way towards her destination.

The group, catching sight of Botan cheerfully skipping her way towards them, were filled with hope. By the look of things, she was bringing very good news; maybe they had a way back home? "Did your boss find a way to solve our problem?" Kumotachi asked when Botan had reached them.

Botan scratched her head thoughtfully and frowned a bit. "Problem… hmm… oh right, that problem! Nope, no solution found!" she chirped happily. Kumotachi stared at her with an incredulous look on his face. "But he's definitely working on it!" Botan hastily amended, catching sight of the suddenly depressed faces. "In fact, I believe we are making some progress with the portal we're building for all of you. You'll be home before you know it!" Yuusuke, who had heard her last words, just snorted. "The toddler doing something right for once? Ha, that'll be the day!" Keiko punched him and shot him a warning look.

Suddenly, Hatanaka remembered the discussion going on at breakfast. "That's right, Botan. We were wondering about something – how come my brother's double is so different? It doesn't make any sense, does it." Botan slowly blinked. "Well… if you want to know…" The group nodded. "…You can ask him yourself. He's coming this way right now!" Kumotachi sighed, disappointed. It seemed as if everyone here was desperate to keep something secret from them – something that had to do with Minamino and his doppelganger.

"First it's Urameshi and Yukimura, now it's Minamino; does everyone of us gather here?" Kuwabara asked. Botan shook her head. "Oh, no. None of us has ever met Kumotachi-san before, and Hatanaka-kun doesn't come to the temple.** (1)** Shizuru stops by once in a while, and then there's Kido-san, Yuu-san and Mitsunari-san, although they come around much less nowadays… well, I think that covers just about everyone who comes here. Oh, hello Shuuichi!" The last sentence was directed at the red-head who now stood beside her. "Good morning Botan, how are you? I see you have another job for us…" Only now did the group catch sight of the videotape in Botan's hand. "Yeah, I was going to visit you after getting Yuusuke; you won't have to look for Hiei, it's just a small mission this time. You can start on it tomorrow."

Keiko's curiosity was peaked. "What mission? What are you talking about?" Minamino's green eyes turned to look at her. "…Yukimura-san? This is certainly unexpected…" Botan, seeing a chance to change the subject, stepped in and waved her hands at the group. "Oh, these are doubles from another reality; they'll be staying here at the temple until they've got a way back. This is Kumotachi Amemaru; he's one of the scientists who made the portal in their world."

Minamino looked at everyone standing next to him; Yukimura's double, Kuwabara's double (except he had no spirit energy at all), his stepbrother's double and… his own double. Who didn't have the slightest bit of youki emanating from him. He stepped forward, carefully scrutinizing his look-a-like (who looked less like him than he should have, based on how similar the others were). His doppelganger, he noticed, didn't feel very comfortable being stared at; the red-head was fidgeting and glaring back with the iciest look he could muster. _'I've fought demons many times larger than myself, and here my own doppelganger is trying to scare me away by glaring… as if that's going to work.'_ The avatar smiled amusedly and stepped back again, bowing to the group. "Forgive me, where are my manners…? My name is Minamino Shuuichi. I'm pleased to meet you; I hope you feel welcome here."

Hatanaka turned to Keiko and muttered to her: "He's awfully polite… are we sure that he's my brother's double?" Keiko frowned. "Of course he is; he just introduced himself as Minamino Shuuichi, didn't he?"

"Hey, wait; there's something we were wondering earlier" Kuwabara said. "You're this world's Minamino Shuuichi, and this is the Minamino Shuuichi from our world" (he gestured at the boy beside him, who still hadn't stopped glaring at the other red-head) "But you two are completely different from each other. How's that possible? I mean, everybody else is the same!" The other waited a bit before replying: "Well, I can't answer a question I don't know the answer of. Since Kumotachi-san is a scientist, he is the most likely person to know, isn't it? Perhaps you can ask him… if you'll excuse me, I'll go and talk with Yuusuke now." And he walked past the group towards the training grounds, where Botan was already talking to Yuusuke, waving around with the tape in her hand.

Kumotachi wasn't convinced by the red-head's calm demeanour. _'He's lying, just like the rest of them. I'm sure he knows what's going on… but why won't anyone tell? There has to be a reason for such an anomaly… maybe he's such a different person here because he has other friends who influence him; that Urameshi kid is still alive here, and Yukina-chan and Genkai-san could have influenced him too. Perhaps even that boy Hiei…'_ He shook his head in frustration. _'Oh of course not, what am I thinking? None of them could've inspired him in any way to academics… the only one who would try to get him on a level required for Meiou High would be Keiko, and if she didn't succeed in our world…'_ He really, really needed some caffeine right now.

Meanwhile, the dimension-hopping teenagers had joined the temple's more frequent visitors to watch the training Yuusuke was put through by Genkai; they were surprised at the high skill. Those two made their PE teacher (who was considered the scariest teacher at the entire school) look like a total wimp!

"Yuusuke seems to take his training more seriously than he ever did school" Keiko sighed. The other agreed. "Yeah, he's a lot more motivated to fight than to study; truthfully, I've practically given up on getting him to study hard. I still make sure he stays at school when he's supposed to, but I don't remind him of his homework anymore. He won't do it anyway, so it's pretty much a waste of energy trying to change him. When he's here, at least he's learning something he likes." The two girls, although seemingly the same person in both looks and personality, were quickly becoming fast friends. Likewise, Hatanaka and Kuwabara were chatting happily with Botan, whose cheerful mood was turning out to be contagious; the boys soon forgot their worries, if only for the time being. Even Kumotachi, who contented himself with just listening, felt himself relax.

No one spared even a moment of thought on Minamino Shuuichi. Said red-head was currently wandering around in the forest, trying to find his way back. He'd wanted to get away from his creepy double; and he'd succeeded. Too bad he'd gotten himself lost in the process. _'Lemme think… do I call for help and get laughed at by everyone, or do I keep looking and hope I'll find my way outta here eventually? Eh, choices, choices…'_ A branch cracked. A low growl, barely noticeable, came from behind him; too close for comfort. Shuuichi breath hitched, and he forced himself to breathe slowly and calmly. It didn't work. Numerous other sounds – scratching, growling, slight hisses – joined the first growl, coming from several directions at once. Turning around, Shuuichi noticed a pair of glowing eyes staring straight at him._'Oh SHIT – what kind of things live in this forest anyway?'_ Shuuichi's knees were shaking badly – any moment now, he'd get a mental breakdown… allowing whatever beasts were out there to rip him to shreds. What a thing to put on your memorial: Killed By Forest Monsters Because He Wanted To Avoid His Doppelganger!

Shuuichi almost screamed when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Almost.

He whipped his head around: the hand on his shoulder turned out to belong to his double. Shuuichi felt as if he was staring at a warped mirror reflection: his very own green eyes looked at him, set in a face framed by hair longer than he'd ever worn it. His double removed his hand from Shuuichi's shoulder. "You know, the forest isn't a very pleasant place. If you join me, I'll walk you back to the temple." Shuuichi didn't move from his spot. The strange, terrifying sounds around him had utterly ceased, as if all living things beside the two humans standing in the clearing had just dropped dead. It was truly silent as the grave. There should've been some sounds; birds, insects… but nothing could be heard anymore.

However, Shuuichi choose to ignore his common sense once more. He planted himself in front of his double to prevent him from leaving. "You know, when you said earlier that you didn't know why we're so different; you lied. I know you did; so stop trying to hide it like it's some big secret that could possibly endanger or kill me or something, because it won't. Just tell me already why we're different." His double still had the same expression on his face – a bland look that didn't betray even the slightest thought he might have. "I already told you earlier. I don't know why we're so different…"

"That's a load of crap and you know it. You're lying, just like Yukina and Genkai are; and I bet Keiko knows what it is, too. All of you are trying to keep something from us; well, guess what? We're not buying it!" During his tirade, Shuuichi's voice had become louder and louder, until he was almost shouting at his doppelganger; said doppelganger was now shooting rather worried looks at the foliage around him. "You shouldn't yell so much. You might attract something–" "Like WHAT, damn it! There's NOTHING HERE–"

The next two seconds were rather confusing; one moment, Shuuichi was yelling at his double; the next, a large… THING… jumps out at them, bloodlust shining in it's eyes. Shuuichi stood still, paralysed with fear, as the thing made a direct beeline for him. His double reacted immediately… and pushed Shuuichi away, coming in the thing's path himself. The large monster slammed directly into the boy, dragging him along into the forest.

In those two seconds, everything had changed. The plant life had been ripped apart, indicating the trail the monster had taken. And in the clearing, Minamino Shuuichi stood, his entire body shaking like a leaf. _'He jumped right in front of that thing… just to save my life! He told me earlier to be quiet in the forest, and I didn't listen… if I had, this wouldn't have happened…'_ The fear left his mind, which was now overcome by an enormous sense of guilt. _'I have to do something!'_ But what? Should he go back to the others and call for help (provided he managed to find the way back) or should he try to save his double on his own (even if he had to take on the monster to do it?) Taking only a few moments, Shuuichi made his decision… hoping that it wouldn't be too late for his double.

**(1) – The reason why Botan uses '-kun' is that she knows him, which will be explained in full in a small fic I'm writing on the side. If anyone can tell me what the Japanese word for 'shard' is, I'd be eternally grateful, since it would fit as a title. Please help!**

**Posted: January 14, 2008  
****Next chapter: Interlude: Back Home**


	11. Interlude: Back Home

**A/N: I wrote chapter eleven in no more than an hour. Anyway, it's time for an interlude! Let's see what the parents were up to, back in the alternate world. This chapter takes place a few hours after the group's disappearance.**

**Word count: 827 words**

Complete and utter chaos. That was how the room could be described. The students who had been admiring the coveted dimension-travelling machine several hours ago had left the building hours ago, lead back to school by their teachers; the museum itself was now inaccessible to anyone who didn't have the proper clearance. The scientists who had been leading the project for more than seven months (minus one) were running around frantically, doing everything they could come up with to find a way to return the missing people. In the far corner of the room, six other people – not scientists this time – were trying to find out what would happen to their children.

They were not very happy when it turned out reparation of the machine would take two weeks at the least. Their children would starve on the streets! "Now, now… it honestly won't be that bad… our colleague Kumotachi-san is with them, and I happen to know that he always has some money on him in case of emergency." Said the unfortunate scientist who had drawn the shortest straw an hour ago (in a contest with a few co-workers) and was now forced to deal with the parents. Parents that – by the look of it – would tear him to pieces alive if their precious children were anything but in perfect health when they'd end up back in this world.

Well, apart from Hatanaka-san, who apparently felt content burying his head in his hands and muttering at his wife not to murder anyone. The rest of the parents – the Yukimuras, the Kuwabaras and Hatanaka Shiori – were threatening to sue the DimensionTravels Company into bankruptcy, should they fail to reunite their families. **(1)**

The scientist quickly tried to calm them down. "We will of course repair the machine as soon as possible. When we are done, someone can go and pick up everyone – presumably, the children will be with our colleague Kumotachi-san. The devices we've repaired already have given us an idea of how the dimension they fell into looks like; this world is in fact at a rather far distance from ours, but the number of differences is minimal. We don't know exactly how that's possible, but if the world is so similar to ours it will make it easier to bring everyone back, because whoever we send after the kids won't draw much attention."

"And how exactly are you going to bring back everyone?" Yukimura-san asked. "Well, the person we send through will take along some basic necessities and six homing beacons; one for each person going back. These beacons will allow the machine – once repaired – to pick out the people wearing those beacons, which will cause them to return to our world again!" From the look on the scientist's face, he had momentarily forgotten that he was facing a group of angry parents; rather, he gave off the impression as if he were standing on a podium, ready to receive the Nobel Prize. One particularly vicious glare from Shiori, however, quickly put him back on track again.

"…As I was saying… ahem. The machine can't take more than a certain number of people, so we can send only one person to retrieve the group." The parents all looked at each other, wondering who would volunteer for the task. "Well, we definitely can't go; we have a restaurant to take care of." The Yukimuras said. The Kuwabaras mentioned their busy jobs and said they had no time for something that might take weeks. "I'll go. Half the children are mine anyway; it's only fitting I would bring them back." Shiori said, stepping forward.

The scientist gaped at her for a second, and then laughed. "Oh, Hatanakasan, but we're not sending you; we're hiring an special agent to go there. You haven't had any proper training for this… sort… of thing…" Hatanaka Shiori was now leaning uncomfortably close to the scientist, staring at him as if he was the slimiest, dirtiest thing she had ever laid eyes upon. He was suddenly very much aware of the fact that she was quite a bit taller than him. The scientist gulped nervously. "Err… though I'm sure we can figure something out… I'll see if I can arrange for you to be send instead…?" To his great relief, Shiori stepped back to give him some breathing space. "You'd better" she answered coldly.

The scientist wiped the sweat off his brow. "Err… I will send you a message as soon as the machine is repaired. If you can give me your contact details…" Shiori left her phone number and left with the rest of the group. There was nothing else that could be done today; but in about two weeks time, she would travel to another world and find her children. _'My dear boys… I promise I'll find you, I swear. I won't leave you there by your own…'_ she thought, leaving the museum behind her. _'I will not abandon you.'_

**(1) – I might make another side story out of this one… in my story, Kuwabara's parents (from the world as depicted in the anime) were youkai hunters, kind of like the Winchester brothers in the series 'Supernatural'. They died a long time ago when fighting youkai. The Kuwabaras from the other reality never had to face down youkai, so they became wealthy businessmen instead – an occupation known for being rather less diminutive to your life expectancy.**

**Posted: January 15, 2008  
****Next chapter: Fox on the Loose**


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